Although it is a completely arbitrary date and not particularly significant in any way, the beginning of the new year seems to be as good a time as any to review and plan. And that’s always been my plan – to review and plan. And I’m pretty good at it. I can plan with the best of them. I have excel spreadsheets, lists, and planners of all of the things that I need to do. And in priority order. I’ve set it up so that I can re-prioritize and I do that regularly because priorities change. Sometimes they change on a daily basis.

One of my (many) flaws is that I live in the world of Quadrant One – the critical world. I am good at getting things done that are important and urgent – those things that will bite me on the ass if they don’t get done. But that’s where I slow down, and often come to a grinding halt. Once the urgency is gone, my energy fades. This I have to change.

This isn’t a new revelation. I’ve been this way for most of my life and I’ve made a few inroads toward improvement. This is what I have to continue – improvement. I have to continue to get better about getting shit done.

So, that’s my New Year’s resolution. I’ll continue to try to improve. There are too many facets of improvement to list here (they’re on my spreadsheet) and I’m not adding any big categories. I’m just going to continue to try to get better.

I have to start by saying that I have been completely apolitical for decades – even anti-political. I have felt that our Canadian political system is so seriously flawed that it has done more harm than good. If the purpose of government is to represent the people, it doesn’t seem to be fulfilling it’s purpose. It seems to be representing a small group of influential people who are using politics to manipulate the system to gain their own ends and accumulate wealth and control. Elections seem to be the one time that politicians pay attention to people and offer promises to be representative of constituents so as to be re-elected into positions of power.

I am proud of Canada, but that pride is becoming fatigued. I find myself faced with a choice: Should I make an effort to make things better on the larger scale, or simply give up and do my best to make my smaller, personal world better? It would certainly be easier to step back and live out my life while avoiding the complications of government. But that wouldn’t help my children and all of the rest of the people that will be impacted by the mess that is growing today.

Have a look at a TED video about the responsibility that we Boomers should feel – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NxOoeEJmjQ. I both thank and curse Dr. John Izzo for this talk at TEDx Vancouver. I have been feeling that responsibility since hearing him speak and now I feel that I have to do something about it.

I’ve decided to get involved in politics. Not as a candidate, because in all honesty I don’t think that I would be very good at it. I am going to learn about politics by getting involved at the policy level – it all begins with Policy. I’ve chosen a political party that I think is closest to my principles and become a party member. I have made myself available to become part of the core structure of the party so that I can understand the system to the point of being able to judge for myself whether the system can be salvaged, or not. I will be attending the Biennial Convention this fall and participating in good faith in the process of preparing the Party for the next election.

At some point during this process, I will be able to come to some conclusions about Canadian politics. I want to make an informed decision; Can the system be salvaged, or should it be scrapped and replaced? After having made that fundamental decision, I will decide the ‘next steps’.

Went looking for breakfast this morning and found Cafe Medina, 556 Beatty Street, Vancouver. This place has just about the best menu that I’ve seen in a long time. A truly unique selection of eclectic alternatives. I won’t list the menu, you can look at it on their website – http://www.medinacafe.com/ – and I can say that I wasn’t disappointed with any of our choices. We shared the Granola, Fruit & Yogurt, the Fricasse and their signature dish, the waffle with caramel sauce and sea salt – all great! We accompanied it with the Chai Latte and a White Chocolate-Pistachio-Rosewater Mocha. I wasn’t sure about the Rosewater part, but there was a nice subtle undertone that rounded out the full flavour.

If you look just a little farther to the east, you will see the west coast of Ireland.

It’s not often that you can be among the first people in North America who see the sun, so I had to see the sunrise at Cape Spear, the easternmost point of land in Canada the closest land to the east is the west coast of Ireland. A couple of years ago my son and I stood on that point in Ireland so it is an interesting feeling to have been on those beaches on either side of the north atlantic.

At 5:45 it was pre-dawn with a coral colored sky in the east. Over a period of 2-3 minutes everything shifted from pre-dawn grays to the vivid colours of the ocean shoreline in the bright morning sun.

If you haven’t been to Cape Spear in Newfoundland-Labrador, you should put it on your list, and you should be there Feeling Canada’s first rays of sun on your face is one of the best ways to start a day!

It’s been incredibly busy for the last few weeks and it’s almost time to head for the Atlantic and begin the 9 month cross-Canada trek – The Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay. It’s been 25 years since Rick’s Man in Motion World Tour. We will be following Rick’s original route across the country and stopping in the same places. This time there will be 7000 participants carrying and passing the Rick Hansen Medal from Cape Spear, Newfoundland to Vancouver, BC. You can find information about the Relay at http://www.rickhansenrelay.com and also find links to follow on FaceBook and Twitter.

Next week I’m heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a 2-day mini vacation and then meeting our team of drivers to drive our large vehicles to North Sydney, NS. From there we will board the Marine Atlantic Ferry to Channel Porte-aux-Basques and then we drive across Newfoundland to St. John’s. Watch for TV coverage of the opening ceremonies on August 24 and launch of the Relay with the first Medal-Bearer from Cape Spear…the eastern-most point of land in Canada.

If you have suggestions for sights to see along the way, leave a comment. I’m always interested in finding interesting places along the road.

At this point, I will be spending most of my time in Beautiful British Columbia. I have a major Canadian trip on the horizon but in the meantime I will be practicing with the WordPress blogging platform.

For the next couple of months I will be seeking out the hidden treasures of the southwest corner of B.C. and bring pictures and information back to these pages.

Ramblin’ Canada will chronicle my general experiences and from time to time could include some posts from friends and guests.

I’ve had the great good fortune of traveling from coast to coast across Canada with the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay, the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay, the 2015 PanAm Games Torch Relay and many personal adventures around the country. I rediscovered that Canada and Canadians are awesome – in the truest sense of the word. This country is filled with treasures – some on a grand scale, and some hidden.

I’ve also been lucky enough to spend time in 45 of the 50 American states and in various locales around the world. It could be the rustic cafe in Mortlach, Saskatchewan where you can get a great soup and sandwich, or the festival experiences of St. John’s, Newfoundland-Labrador. It could be the oldest restaurant in Quebec City or the best vantage point to get a beach sunset picture in Tofino, B.C. Or it could be pics of Nanaimo Harbour from a buddy’s sundeck. If it’s unique, intriguing and worth visiting, I’ll tell you about it. Ireland, Indonesia, Thailand, Germany, Tajikistan, Singapore (etc.) and the South Pacific have all been great experiences and there are many more on the Bucket List.

So, come back and visit and I’ll try to keep you posted. I’ll do what I can to find great experiences and bring back the details.